Part of the routine maintainence of automobiles involves the periodic removal of dirt and grime accumulated in the course of their operation, from the surfaces thereof. Not only does such removal enhance the appearance of the vehicle, but the life of the vehicle is prolonged since such dirt, particularly salt accumulation, if left undisturbed destroys the luster of the vehicle's paint, and produces corrosion of the metallic parts. In the past, such removal has been accomplished by washing the car with water, more desirably with soap and water, sometimes followed by the application of a protective film of wax. While washing previously was manually performed, automated equipment, which is faster and less expensive since it reduces labor costs, has for the most part superseded the old-fashioned, manual operation.
Until relatively recently, automated washing consisted of slowly moving the automobile through a succession of rotating brushes, oscillating draped strips, sequential sprays of soap and water, and similar steps. While wash lines of the brush type have, for the most part, successfully removed dirt and grime accumlated on the automobile's exposed surfaces, they have also been responsible for producing scratch patterns on the painted surfaces. The scratch problem has become even more serious as the industry has moved to the softer, high luster paints. Furthermore, while the contacting brushes provide a positive washing action, they are incapable of reaching recessed surfaces of the automobile, and thus have been unable to eliminate all of the accumulated soil. An additional disadvantage of wash lines depending upon physical contact with brushes and the like, stems from the fact that such procedures necessarily require extensive, complex mechanical machinery which is not only expensive, but which requires considerable space, and is prone to frequent break-down.
As a result of the described defciencies, the car wash industry has recently begun to install wash lines which rely on high pressure wash water jets to remove automotive dirt. Since such devices require fewer mechanical components, they are less susceptible to mechanical breakdown, and the ability of the streams to penetrate into hard to reach areas, enables the wash system to produce a superior job. One such device and system is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,848, which discloses a frame with pressure nozzles and photo electric cells mounted thereon. As an automobile passes through the device, the frame pivots in an arcuate motion over its top, while the nozzles are continuously adjusted to provide the necessary clearance relative to the surfaces being washed. Initially, as the automobile enters the device, the wash nozzles are directed toward the entering vehicle. However, the nozzles are automatically readjusted while the frame pivots, and as the automobile proceeds, until at the end of the arc they have swung to a point at which the wash streams emanating therefrom are pointing opposite to the direction in which they were originally positioned. While the device of the patent is superior to wash devices relying on brushes, it suffers from the fact that the angle of the wash streams with respect to the car surfaces, represents a compromise. In this regard, in order to achieve optimum washing action, a wash stream should be directed at approximately right angles to the surface of the automobile. When, however, a wash nozzle is slowly repositioned through 180.degree., without reference to the nature of the surface passing beneath it, the angle of stream impact will vary, depending upon the position of the surface being washed. Sometimes the impact angle will be in a desirably perpendicular position relative to an automobile surface; more frequently, however, it will impinge at an angle other than 90.degree.. In addition, when such a frame approaches the mid-point of the vehicle being washed, the nozzles will be pointing generally toward the approaching vehicle, while when the vehicle proceeds past the mid-point of the arc, the nozzles will point generally in the direction of the receding vehicle, producing an impact angle that tends to push removed dirt back over the surface area just cleaned.
A first aspect of this invention, therefore, is to provide a vehicle washing device capable of performing a wash function without abrading brushes.
A second aspect of the invention is the provision of a vehicle wash device that directs wash streams onto the vehicle surface at an optimum angle.
Another aspect of this invention is to provide a device with wash nozzles directed so as to avoid directing removed dirt onto previously washed surfaces.
Yet another aspect is to make available a simple, durable, inexpensive washing device that can be installed in a limited space.
The foregoing and other aspects of the invention are achieved in a vehicular washing device comprising in combination: lateral vehicle profile detection means; a horizontal spray bar adapted to distribute wash liquids; spray bar vertical positioning means; spray bar rotation means; supporting structure for the preceeding, and a logic control unit.
Still other aspects of the invention are achieved by the process of washing a vehicle comprising subjecting all exposed upper vehicle surfaces disposed at substantially right angles to the vehicles sides, sequentially from one end of the vehicle to the other, to a plurality of streams of wash liquid, wherein the angle of said streams relative to the surfaces impacted is maintained substantially constant.